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Its that time of year again. The SGV just KNOWS its the New Year when a B2 bomber flies down over the Rose Parade route and on down the 210 before they turn it to its home base. The rest of you get to watch it on TV. Yeah, we’re special.

A lot of cool stuff is happening in Los Angeles this coming year. Sometime this month the NFL is meeting to talk about moving not one but THREE teams to Los Angeles. Feetball isn’t my thing except for the odd Packers game and the Superbowl but a ton of Angelenos are terribly excited by the prospect so I am for them.

The iconic 6th street bridge falls this month sometime to be replaced by something new spanning the Los Angeles River. On the topic of the river…the Corp of Engineers signed off on a plan to turn the river back into a natural stream bed replete with trees and parkways along its course to the sea.

The Gold Line extension opens all the way to Azusa March 5. The Expo line this spring makes it all the way to SaMo. Progress in spite of ourselves. Personally I can’t wait as it will be possible to make a quick jaunt to SaMo from the SGV to lunch with a dear friend instead of spending hours on the 10 trying to get there.

Of course this is a big city and room for lots of voices telling what they saw or did. Care to join me in sharing your L.A stories?

When word hit that Christmas morning would bring with it a rare full moon (last one to happen on December 25: 1977), of course I got up in time so you wouldn’t have to and snapped it (click the pics below to enlargify) setting over the ridge to the west of our humble Silver Lake abode.

The first shot is plain sight from the porch, the latter two at about 40x magnification through a scope, with the last one getting photobombed by a palm tree. So LA! Happy Holidays!

This story in today’s Los Angeles Times (link) explores the incident from which I derived a foundation-level disdain for Donald Trump, and I, like much of 1989 Los Angeles, was only all too relieved when his proposed tower plan was killed.

It’s understandable given Trump’s recent and meteoric rise as a politician that the article’s tone is chest-thumpy about how he “got schooled,” but still it’s interesting (and disappointing) given the ultimate loss of the Ambassador Hotel. The irony, of course, is that at the time of the clash the subtext of the LAUSD’s efforts to build public opinion against the project wasn’t just how distasteful it was for Trump to erect a quarter-mile phallic monument to himself, but that the Ambassador deserved the far better fate of being preserved and repurposed as a school, rather than razed in vein for so vain an endeavor.

Here’s a surprise: Turned out school and civic officials were rather disingenuous in their commitment to preserving the historic landmark. And while one could well argue that the new school there now is better than a giant tool and how, what we’ve learned a quarter-century after Donald’s failed deal is that the Ambassador was doomed to be collateral damage either way.

Last night was the sneak preview blogathon at the Sierra Madre Playhouse for “A Christmas Memory” based on a short story by Truman Capote. This is a musical with live musicians, not canned sound tracks.

I was captured from the get go with this play. The performances by the cast were engaging and brought the story to life. To avoid spoilers I’ll not give away too much of the plot or story line. The setting is a man’s boyhood home and sequences between the now and his boyhood spent in rural Alabama raised by cousins in the depression. The story is about a man returning “home” after being gone a long time for the funeral of a cousin who raised him. Its an interesting story of familial love and bonding, with adventures and making fruitcake.

The latter is central to the story and the song “Fruitcake Weather” is lively and just adds to the story line. Young Buddy (Ian Branch) and Sook (Diane Kelber) have a bond that is magical and plays out well on stage.

The music gets a big round of applause, but one of the best sequences in the production is when the cast breaks out the ukelele’s and busts out into song. Fun, well done and did I mention fun?

To read more about the cast and production team visit their website HERE. The Sierra Madre Playhouse has another hit on its hands here. The play has already sold out for Friday and Saturday night its opening weekend. You can still get tickets for Sunday and the remaining dates (the play closes December 27) via the Playhouse HERE.

One the things you get in Press Days of the Los Angeles Auto Show that you don’t get in the public days is the grand reveals and Green Car Drives. It is physically impossible as a party of one to hit every press conference so I have to pick and choose which to attend so I can get in and see all the cars on display and photograph them. Trust me its a lot of work and not all party and booze and great food. There is some of that, but the thrust of the 2 day event is press conferences and not all are wowsers.

Audi was a real surprise. Instead of the ususal hype and bluster, they started with an apology for the current diesel kerfuffle with fudged testing vs operation parameters. They promised to earn their customers respect back. Then they went into the discussion on the future of Audi relying on electric cars, first to come is the A3 E-tron and soon to follow an all electric SUV the E-tron Quattro in a few years. By 2025 Audi expects 25% of all cars they sell to be electric. Read the rest of this entry →

First up…Chevy’s Volt took the green car of the year award in a ceremony held Thursday Morning. Later I got to drive it and was impressed. Smoother ride, smoother transition back and forth between EV and gas mode, with much more time in pure EV mode than the prior version. Add in a much more refined, high end materials and fit in finish inside this car is nothing like its hard edged predecessor. I can see easily why it won “Green Car of the Year” for its technilogical and creature comfort advancements. Nice job Chevy.

We know little of this car other than an entry on the schedule of premieres during Press Days of the L.A. Auto Show coming up in 2 short weeks. Elio is a new car company the P5 is their debut car. Little is known. Rumors abound. Its a 3 wheel car, .9liter 3 cylnder, 80+mpg, 0-60 in under 10 seconds, top speed over 100. This is either going to be the greatest thing since the Tesla to make us change how we think about cars or will will be another blip on the radar that we snicker over like the Dale. I fear the latter as with “cheap” gas again and a resurgance of guzzing SUV sales and falling hybrid sales, but we’ll see. It may just wow us.

The L. A. Auto Show is open to the public 11/20-29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Buy your tickets now and avoid the lines at the ticket booths. While there judge for yourself if the Elio Motors P5 is the future or a blip.

I met Gayle Montgomery quite a while back and impressed with the depth of concern she has for her fellow human beings. Through her job she met Sergeant Major Acosta. A disabled Vet who lost his eyesight during a batle in the Middle East. Gayle also works on a local committee trying to find solutions to our homeless problem and became aware that a large percentage of our homeless are Vets with no resources to help themselves. Sergeant Major and Gayle got to talking about the problems the expected El Nino will bring for them. Here are a few of the things they discussed.

Homelessness in Vets was reduced from 4 years ago. Now 1 in 10 who sleep on the streets is a veteran.

There has been a 6% spike in the last year of homeless veterans, probably attributable to the spiraling cost of housing in combination with the draw down.

The largest concentration of homeless Vets anywhere in our nation is in LA County where there are over 4,000 Vets who sleep on the street.

It is the position of the group that has who have joined hands in lockstep across a wide geographical area, that no person who honorably served our nation should have to sleep on the streets.

No person who served our nation should have to suffer such adverse weather conditions without supplies and without knowing that, Gayle’s employer is Glad to Be of Service to those who faithfully served us.

This project very closely parallels the Soldiers Angels Program which serves those on the battlefield. This project serves those who were on the battlefield, came home, and have had difficulty reintegrating into society.

From that conversation came the idea to create Thank a Vet Inc and their first mission “Operation Save a Vet”. It will consist of a multipronged approach to help the homeless vets trying to survive on the streets during the coming rainy season. First is getting in kind materials donated to them for distribution. Second is to raise funds for care and shelter for these vets, men and women trying to cope with life outside the military. Read the rest of this entry →

Sometimes magic happens on stage. This time around it hit home at Sierra Madre Playhouse with the production of “Always…Patsy Cline”. The cast was magical and I was tickeled beyond belief to been on the sidelines watching the cast grow into their characters and bring this production to life. Some 4000 people from all over the L.A Metro and OC saw the play. You can scroll through for my review from the soft opening.

Actors Cori Cable Kidder (Patsy Cline) and Nikki D’Amico (Louise Seger) gave heartfelt thanks at the end of the show. Artistic Director Christian Lebano and Managing Director, Estelle Campbell also chimed in with their thoughts on the play. Enjoy their closing comments and consider visiting the Sierra Madre Playhouse for their next production opening later this month, A Christmas Memory.

This weekend was a terrifc weekend, if you forget the blazing heat and attended the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts 52nd Annual Celebrate the Arts and first ever ChalkFest.

Celebrate the Arts incorporated several first as I outlined the other day. What makes these events fun isn’t so much the terrific art, but the ability to see artists working on their art, demonstrating their technique. There year there were several artists doing just that. Glass blower Joshua Smilth wowed folks with his tecnhique. Metal sculpturist Bill Hyatt continued working on his horse head sculpture a painstaking process of welding dot by dot to build up the face and texture of the horse.

This is a biggy for me. Something that I, as a board member, have been all but consumed with the last several weeks. Celebrate the Arts is in its 52nd year and its going to have quite a few firsts on top of the already terrific fine artists populating the park with their art.

Celebrate the Arts is held in Monrovia’s Library Park from 10AM – 6PM both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. There will be a lot of firsts at this show that we are really excited about on top of our usual host of Food Trucks, live music, extremely talented artists. Among our firsts this event:

Sometimes it is more than the car, its the perfect mix of ambition and heart.

Last night started out like any other manufacturer party. This time hosted by Dodge. It was different as instead of rolling out a red carpet for a shiny new car, it was to give a gift to suburban Los Angeles based “A Walk on Water“. AWOW for short.

Until last night I hadn’t heard of them or their mission. AWOW is there to support families with autistic members. They provide the entire family, not just the person with autism, with the chance to spend a fun day together learning to surf. They believe in the theraputic powers of the ocean and surfing as a way to bridge the communication gap and give a family with special needs a fun learning experience they can share.

Actor Danny Trejo gave a moving introduction to the group and shared how is own family is affected by autism. Its just not the person with special needs that needs help, but the entire family that is affected and need help with coping and learning. The board members of AWOW also shared with us their personal stories on why what they do is important to them and the families they help. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after one board member talked about how his non-verbal son spoke his first words after his first surf ride. He’s skilled now on the board that he’s ready to be a teacher in the group. The power in belief in abilities and that you can make always find a way to make a positive out of a challenge.

The big news dropped at the end of the presentations is that Dodge, a division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was donating $20,000 to AWOW to kick start their growth and expand beyond the Los Angeles area. Dodge/FCA together are also pledging an additional $50 for every test drive at authorized dealerships in the coming days up to $5,000 additional for AWOW. (list of authorized dealers after the jump). It was hinted that Danny Trejo himself will be at some of the dealerships during their day of sponsored test drives to meet and greet those helping out AWOW by taking drive in a shiny new Dodge.

To further sweeten the pot, Nacional Records, our host for the evening festivities, is going to give away 2 tickets per test drive to the October 3 Supersonico Festival at the Palladium.

We are happy to be able to provide FREE general parking for this year’s Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance through the generosity of Promenade on the Peninsula and Peninsula Shopping Center. Constantly running buses, courtesy of L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe, will shuttle you to and from the Concours venue—about a 7 minute drive.

DIRECTIONS

From either Hawthorne or Crenshaw Blvds., turn onto Indian Peak Road.

Signage will direct you to parking entrances

Volunteers will help guide you to a parking spot.

At Promenade on the Peninsula parking structure:

Please use ONLY the parking entrance next to the Norris Theater.

Please do not use any other parking entrance for Concours parking. These areas are reserved for shopping center patrons. Be courteous.

After parking, walk across the street to Peninsula Shopping Center to board the Shuttle.

I could add a few more snarks, but bottom line a few electric cars in the LAPD make sense in the right applications. No I can’t imagine them used in a high speed pursuit, but contrary to local TV that is not a constant occurrence. There’s plenty of things they do that involves just slogging around town and idling in traffic that an electric car and its zero emissions at the tail pipe make sense. Detectives cold calling witnesses and victims on follow up doesn’t need speed nor lights flaring. Parking meter slugs idling around town issuing tickets is another area that kinda makes sense.

Regardless of what you think of the EV, they make sense in some applications and if we can save some gas money swapped for electrons cheaper off the grid to power these little beasts its better for the cities bottom line.

Personally, I like the BMW i3, Drives very much like what you expect from BMW, with its aggressive regeneratvie braking systems a quick lift of the throttle feels more like downshifting a gasser than just idle coasting. My full review from a few years ago HERE that included an interview with the BMW i project manager.

Free subscription to blogging.la for the first person who captures a pic of the BMW i3 in action on the streets of L.A.

Every now and then I get stuff in my inbox thats just too cool not to share. This infographic from Sparefoot shows just how freaking BIG Griffith Park is compared to other cities of the world. At over 4000 acres its one of the biggest city park in the world. No one else comes close, heck its even larger than some national parks. But I digress, when Brian Shreckengast of Sparefoot reached out and asked if I would be interested in sharing with all of you the answer was an emphatic YES!

Click to embiggen the pic to the right to get the whole effect. Using some special mapping software Brian mapped the outlines of Griffith Park and then used that map to superimpose it over some of the worlds cities to show just how big and special Griffith Park is. Massive is an understatement. The full story on how they did it and larger maps can be seen on their WEB SITE.

I have always loved this park. When I was a valley dweller, Valley Village to be precise, this was my go to place to hike, walk, or just clear my head. I miss the road that once was open from the observatory to Travel Town as it gave excellent spots to stop and and soak in the city sights and vistas. But thats been closed at least 20 years at this point and I doubt they’ll reopen which is sad as it makes so much of the park out of reach for a quick walk on the trails.

What’s your favorite spot in the park?

Image courtesy Brian Shreckengast of Sparefoot and used with permission.